Who Am I? |
| I was born in Sebastopol, California in 1962. My
grandfather's grandfathers on both my mother's side and father's side of the
family have been living in the Americas now known as the United States since the
1600's. I have family members who fought on the southern side in the Civil
War, and others who fought on the northern side. I personally would have
fought for the emancipation and freedom of the peoples who were kept in
slavery. In addition, some of my ancestors are Native American. I do not support the slaughter of the Native peoples that ocurred in this country. Around 1800, my father's ancestors were founding Lubbock, Texas, while the in-laws to the Andersons, the Stines, were moving toward Matamoros, Illinois. Somehow my grandmother Verna Anderson and her family moved to California around 1920. My grandfather, Elden Stine, born in California in 1906, met and married Verna Anderson. My grandfather became a fisherman, as did my father. As is so frequently the case with fishermen, the sea eventually took his life. My mother's relatives, having descended from a Marquis de la Calmes from France in the 1600's, moved from the east coast to the Grapevine, Tarrant county area of Texas over the next 200 years. My great grandmother (mother's mother) gave birth to her children while living in a tent as they traveled back and forth between Texarkana and Grapevine over the years. They all grew into healthy adults. My grandmother (father's mother) had two home births herself. Both of those children are still living and in their late 50's early 60's. While visiting an aunt in the Los Angeles area in 1960-61, she met my father who was attending Pepperdine University at the time. They married and I was born a year and a month later! I met my husband at Harding University. We have given birth to two beautiful children.
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What Am I About? |
I was called to become a midwife. It was a spiritual calling.
Midwife
means "with woman". When I attend birth, whether in the hospital
or at home,
I attend the woman and her family. I am with that woman, in that
moment. I
have created home-like births in the hospital setting. I feel
it is very
feasible and safe to do so. I find myself appalled at the
mentality of my
colleagues who continue to institutionalize birth. Those who
can't or won't
see that women want heart & soul at their births, not protocol. My first love was and has always been home birth. I am an advocate for going into the depths of the soul. Spiritual midwifery is more than the title of a book, it's who I am as a midwife. I have grown these past 12 years. I know that angels go with me to my women's homes. We have wonderful, loving, family supported births. My goal as midwife is to become less and less obtrusive, yet maintain the system of support that women rely on. After all, it is not my birth. I am a guest with priveledge and knowledge. I tread gently to give women what they want. I come with many skills to each birth. My goal is to safely keep women and their babies at home. My transport rate is very low. Less than 2 percent. I have been blessed with good outcomes! God blesses me that way. I have a deep relationship with God. And no, God is not my hand-maid. God is the all powerful, and I am God's servant always. I am a member of MANA, the Midwives Alliance of North America. I am a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives. Having worked in high tech obstetrics at tertiary care hospitals, and in low risk settings, I have a good eye for complications and work diligently with my mothers to prevent them, so that during birth we all feel confident. What makes me unique, is that as I studied hospital based obstetrics, I also did not miss an issue of Midwifery Today since 1987! Issue #1... As I lived full blown crisis with inverted uteri's, HELLP syndrome, and diabetic mothers, I was also relying on the teachings of Nan Koehler, Anne Frye, Jeanine Parvati, and Ina May Gaskin. I listened to my intuition. Being a nurse in L&D, knowing the power and dynamics and personal transformation of birth, it was not easy to blend the two. I went home and wept for these women. Nurses have very little power. It is ultimately up to each woman to create her own birth. Nurses can support what their patients want. I encouraged where I could, reminded women of their power, that they could have done this at home, ultimately each woman decides for herself! I am here to be that circle of love, and safety net. I love catching babies. I am honored by each woman who has invited me into her life and allowed me the privelege of attending her labor. Blessings to each and every one of you. Sandra Dederscheck Stine, CNM
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How did I get to Nacogdoches Texas? |
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I am a certified nurse midwife. I graduated from Harding University
in 1986 with a Spanish minor, a Bible minor and a Bachelors of Science in
Nursing! I always knew that I wanted to be a midwife. In 1991, I was
accepted to the intercampus program at the University of California San
Francisco, San Diego. I enjoyed the multicultural aspects this program
offered. While in California, I worked with the Hispanic population, and
various Asian populations in addition to the dominant Anglo culture. I moved to Nacogdoches to work at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital. My goal was to serve the community. I wanted to go to a community that truly needed me. I found while working in the UTMB clinic that Nacogdoches had many women who were lost and alienated from their own families, who "accidently got pregnant", or were getting pregnant without consideration for the appropriateness of their pregnancy, and ultimately the care and consideration of the child did come second to their own needs. I found that many women had been disenfranchised from the blessings of being a woman, they didn't feel empowered to breast feed nor were they able to empower themselves to enjoy their birth experience. I saw also that there was no support for the women in the post partum. I wanted to make a difference. Neither the NMH system nor UTMB worked for me. Many ideas were shot down as a liability issue. They were willing to take Medicaid money to pay for the prenatal care and delivery, but there were few social programs that actually helped a woman, and there was no formal education separate and apart from the hospital to teach women regarding dietary health, health issues, childbirth preparation, breast feeding, etc. (I am hoping that the Nacogdoches Doula Registry will begin to fill the void. This entity would work well with the UTMB clinic clients and the East Texas Community Health Clinic clients.) After working three years and two months for NMH, I now work in the community with the women who want a better alternative! Women who do not depend on Medicaid or the government of Texas to make healthcare decisions for them. These are empowered women looking for the best alternative for themselves and their families. |
What do I believe about birth? |
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I believe that birth is a natural event, that women's bodies were
created perfectly by the Divine Creative Spirit to deliver a baby. I have
observed through historical documents that birth has occurred without the
need for a hospital or a physician for thousands upon thousands of years.
In fact, hospitalization affects its own dangers upon birthing women. Written record of midwives attending women at birth is ancient and supported in Biblical record. I believe that most problems that occur in pregnancy can be recognized during prenatal care, and that many of these problems can be avoided and prevented with excellent nutrition and screening. There is historical literature and research that bears this out. I believe that women have the right to autonomy and the right to deliver their baby at home. I believe that both parents should be supported in their right to choose the healthcare that they feel is appropriate for themselves and their children. I do not believe this health care should be dictated by outside sources, unless the child is in danger. Home birth has a rich history of safety that has not been validated by this culture since the 1940’s, and not by the medical profession since the turn of the century. Parents who chose home birth are choosing a family centered, loving, and time honored tradition. Presently, there is research that shows home birth to be safe when coupled with medical back-up should the need for hospitalization arise. I am committed to supporting parental rights, and parental autonomy. I believe that home birth midwifery is in accordance with the standards of autonomy as discussed in the practice of nursing, that the midwife provides education and services that provide support for the client. The client makes the final decision regarding the prenatal care, tests and procedures that the client deems are important and congruent with her own and her family's belief system. Home birth midwifery also promotes non-malfeasance in that it is inherently non-interventive and does not cause iatrogenic harm to the newborn by routine and inappropriate use of medical tests and procedures, nor does it interfere with the natural bonding process of the family by separation at birth. Rather, home birth promotes the family structure and the natural process of birth necessary to promote a humane and safe psychologic atmosphere for the newborn and mother. This support of the newborn's psychologic need to maintain contact with his maternal care provider, and the social support of the birthing mother provided by midwifery care have been documented in research to promote health and well being for the family itself. |